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Gun bill heads to governor’s desk

March 29, 2010 By

Out-of-staters may soon be able to legally carry a concealed gun in Iowa.  The Iowa House and Senate have given final legislative approval to a bill which sets new, statewide standards for issuing gun permits, replacing the current system which gives county sheriffs wide latitude to decide who can and cannot get a gun permit. 

The bill also makes it legal for someone who’s in Iowa, but doesn’t live here, to carry a concealed weapon if they have obtained a concealed weapon permit for that gun from in another state.  Representative Mary Mascher, a Democrat from Iowa City, suggested that’s a “formula for disaster.”

“We don’t have any say in whether those states have requirements that are as stringent as ours and yet we would recognize those permits and say they are perfectly O.K., we would accept them, we would think they are all right,” Mascher said during House debate.  “I have a problem with that have with that.”

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Filed Under: Crime & Courts, Politics & Government Tagged With: , , , ,

Third person charged in Cedar Rapids murder

March 29, 2010 By

Cedar Rapids police say a third person has charged in the murder of a man there in January. Police say 20-year-old Johven Lee was arrested in Naperville, Illinois and was brought back to Iowa last week and is now charged with first-degree murder. The charges stem from the shooting death of Kevin Bell on January 11th.

Police say Lee and two teenagers barged into Bell’s apartment, in what could have been a robbery attempt. Police have also charged 17-year-olds Denem Null and Gabriel Taylor of Cedar Rapids, with first-degree murder in the case. A police department spokesperson says they are still trying to piece together why Bell was shot, but says the three suspects are not talking about what happened.

Lee is being held in the Linn County Jail, while Null and Taylor are being held at the Linn County Juvenile Detention Center.

Filed Under: Crime & Courts

New Ms. Wheelchair Iowa crowned

March 29, 2010 By
Samantha Edwards

Samantha Edwards

Iowa has a new spokeswoman for people with disabilities. Samantha Edwards was crowned the new Ms. Wheelchair Iowa in a weekend pageant in Iowa City. Edwards is a 22-year-old from Marshalltown who has cerebral palsy.

Edwards says, “My platform is trying to create positive perceptions of people with disabilities in the media by talking about awareness about the issues that affect people in the disabled community but also other current events.”

She says it’s important that Iowans who have a disability are portrayed on radio, TV and in print talking about things other than their disabilities.

Edwards says, “You don’t have to always talk about the issues that effect the disabled community to be a positive influence.” Edwards is a junior at Iowa State University, studying journalism and mass communications. She will represent Iowa at the Ms. Wheelchair America event in Grand Rapids, Michigan, in August.

Filed Under: Human Interest

Group celebrates anniversary of gay marriage ruling

March 29, 2010 By

The group “One Iowa” organized a small rally to mark the upcoming one-year anniversary of gay marriage in Iowa. The Iowa Supreme Court issued a ruling on April 3rd of last year which legalized gay marriage. Carolyn Jenison is executive director of “One Iowa,” a group which has run television advertisements supporting the ruling.

“Thousands of Iowans have lent their support to the decision using their voices, their names, their time, their passion — to advocate for equality,” she said. Senator Matt McCoy, a Democrat from Des Moines, is the only openly-gay member of the Iowa legislature.

“I’ve watched the futile efforts by those who would have you believe that marriage equality would unravel the moral fabric of society,” McCoy said during today’s rally. “Quite to the contrary, marriage equality has not impacted Iowans negatively.” About two dozen people turned out for the event, held outdoors on a sidewalk between the Iowa Capitol and the State Historical Building.

“One Iowa” is hosting a number of other events, too, across the state over the next week to mark the April 3, 2009 decision. On Friday afternoon there’ll be a panel discussion at the University of Iowa College of Law and one of the panelists will be an attorney who represented the gay couples of filed the lawsuit that led to the Iowa Supreme Court decision.

Last week, gay marriage opponents held a rally on the statehouse steps, urging key legislators to reverse course and allow a statewide vote on a constitutional amendment that would ban gay marriage in Iowa. About 30 people who attended that rally spent two-hours praying in a capitol conference room beforehand.

Filed Under: Crime & Courts

McCaffery says he’ll bring excitement back to Hawkeye basketball

March 29, 2010 By
Fran McCaffery

Fran McCaffery

The University of Iowa introduced its new head basketball coach this morning. Iowa athletic director Gary Barta says “the person who wanted the job, the person who is qualified for the job, is Fran McCaffery.

McCaffery spent the past five years as the head coach at Siena and led that school to three consecutive trips to the NCAA Tournament. He also led Lehigh and North Carolina-Greensboro to NCAA bids and now looks to rebuild an Iowa program that has suffered three consecutive losing seasons for the first time since the 1930s.

McCaffery says his first job is to retain the current players, as he says they have “a great nucleus of young talent.” He says it’s his responsibility to reach out with them and see that they honor their commitments, and from there he can tell what they need for the future.

McCaffery inherits a team that posted a 10-22 mark this past season, the worst in the program’s history. “I can promise you this, we’re going to compete, we’re gonna play the game the right way, I’m gonna coach with passion, but our players are gonna have fun,” McCaffery says. He says they players will enjoy what they do on the floor and “this place is gonna be rocking again.”

McCaffery also was contacted about coaching vacancies at St. Johns and Seton Hall but felt Iowa was the right fit. He says he went through and prioritized what would be best for his family, and the place that would have the most potential for growth, he kept coming back to Iowa.

McCaffery expects the program to make progress in his first season, as he says his expectation is to show improvement immediately. He says how much improvement depends on the roster. McCaffery says it will take hard work to get the program back near the top of the Big Ten. He says they have to recruit well, coach the right way, and make the building exciting, so teams come in and have no chance.

McCaffery has agreed to a six year deal with a base salary of one-point-one million dollars. Barta says they’ve come to a general agreement, and they hope to have the contract completed in the next few weeks. Barta says McCaffery made it clear from the beginning that he wanted the job. “The first thing he said right out of the gate, was ‘I want to be the coach at Iowa,” Barta says.

(Photo courtesy of Siena athletic department)

Filed Under: Sports Tagged With: ,

Romney back in Iowa, signing copies of his new book

March 29, 2010 By
Mitt Romney signs his book.

Mitt Romney signs his book.

Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney is back in Iowa, talking about his new book and making a few passing references to his 2008 campaign for the White House. 

Romney made a noon-hour appearance at the downtown Des Moines Library, speaking for about 25 minutes before signing copies of his book, “No Apologies.”

“It’s nice to be back, particularly on such a sunny day. I understand it’s been sunny and warm all winter, right?  No, there’s been a little bit of Al Gore falling on this area, right?” Romney said, as the audience laughed and applauded.  “A little bit of global warming has come your way.” 

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Filed Under: Campaign Countdown, Health & Medicine, Recreation & Entertainment, Weather Tagged With: ,

Moratorium on utility shut offs ends April 1st

March 29, 2010 By

Thousands of low-income Iowans who are behind on paying their utility bills could be disconnected this Friday. Iowa’s winter moratorium on utility service disconnections runs through April 1. The moratorium is only extended to households that are qualified for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program.

There were more than 30,000 LIHEAP certified households in Iowa in January. Rob Hillesland, with the Iowa Utilities Board, says those customers owe around $6.6 million. “For most of these customers, the utilities are more than willing to work out some sort of payment agreement to help them out,” Hillesland said.

“So, I would encourage customers to contact their local utility as soon as possible.” In most cases, customers who arrange to make some kind of monthly payment – even if it’s not for the full amount – can avoid having their utilities disconnected.

Hillesland says customers who have exhausted their utility payment options may need to seek other assistance through their local Community Action Program.

Hillesland says people with questions or concerns can also call the Iowa Utilities Board customer service line at 1-877-565-4450.

Filed Under: Business Tagged With:
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